29 April - 23 June 2024
It's been a hot minute since I wrote, so I'll catch you up briefly on any noteworthy events and then on my overall thoughts about how life has been going.
I signed up for the ward lip synch battle and got Courtlyn and Theres on board with me, so I spent a LOT of time practicing for that! Like easily 10 hours. I'd practice at the gym in front of the mirror. Since our gym closed down, my mom and I have not found a satisfactory solution. We tried a free 5-day pass out Mountain Side. We even signed up to try EoS, which sucked. Not only was it super crowded and smelly, but the "$1 trial" was a scam and they charged mom $27 dollars (more than that, including the yearly fee, but mom called and got them to take that off at least). But we were definitely misinformed and mom was so miffed. So, we do NOT like EoS. Now we even feel more grateful for our membership at LA Fitness, even if it is a bit more of a drive. I also went on the ward hike to Sedona with Therese, Alyssa, and Rachel. We listened to my jams on the way up, a mix of gospel tunes and k-pop/ballads. It was beautiful, and I really enjoyed talking with my friends and building deeper connections. I also had my friends Courtlyn, Delaney, and Therese over for Sunday dinner with my family and we played games on Cinco De Mayo. My YouTube channel is still going, but I'm taking a bit of a break by just posting shorts/memes instead of long videos because those were kind of burning me out and didn't seem super popular anyways, so I figured I needed to regroup and reassess what is really meaningful to me and worth it to put out there. The ward lip synch battle was such a fun evening! Delaney came to support us, and we ended up winning first place! We spent lots of time practicing together in the week leading up to it. That night, we were practically flawless! I felt so loved and so included and so happy. My heart was happy and light. Also, I got to take home the trophy! Gracelyn is super cute and has taken to calling me "Choo Choo" (thanks to my dad, really). I attended Jessica Hughes and Garrett Baker's wedding ceremony, then helped set up for the reception, then attended the reception! We had a fun FHE "Where's Waldo?" night at SanTan Mall and the bishopric did such a wonderful job of dressing up. My studying and practicing of Korean is still going well (slowly but surely, I'd say. It's hard when you don't really have people to practice it with/aren't submerged in it). I went to a stake water day and hung with my friends. The pop-up water slide was super fun, and for the dunk tank, I knocked down the stake president on my third try! Everyone was really impressed! My gym friend Hanna is off in Korea, and she's been sending us pictures of things, which was been super fun! I also attended my friend Savannah Hunter's wedding. I've been trying to treat myself in little ways, like I got a bunch of Korean food/meals to try, and they were actually so good! I made dinner with Therese for the sister missionaries yesterday, which was a good time, but I am sad she will be leaving next Saturday, moving to Idaho, but it'll be exciting for her! So of course I made her and Courtlyn take Sunday photos with me :). I also made Sunday dinner for Grandpa Jim and me since my parents were out of town this past week in Utah, visiting Lucy.
Working as a therapist has been much harder than I ever imagined. There have been a handful of times where I've really wanted to quit. I can't even describe the extent of my challenges, but things are getting better, and I'm getting additional support and help. Plus, I think sometimes you just have to struggle in order to fully appreciate or learn something. If there is one thing that I know to be true (even though it's a hard truth), it's that pain and suffering bring perspective and growth and joy. I'm hanging in there and even experiencing joy so I'm just trying to continue to surround myself with good things and voices, spending more time in the gospel and in the things that TRULY matter most in life and in the eternities.
Much love,
Emily Burnham
